Air Canada has apologized to two passengers who were escorted off a plane after they were told they had to sit in seats that had not been properly cleaned because someone vomited on them on a previous flight.
Susan Benson, a passenger on the Aug. 26 flight from Las Vegas to Montreal, detailed the incident on Facebook three days later.
Noting that “there was a foul smell,” Benson explained that someone on the flight earlier had vomited near where the two women and the man in front of her were “struggling to sit down.”
“Allegedly, Air Canada attempted a quick clean prior to boarding, but was apparently unable to perform a thorough clean,” Benson claimed. “They put ground coffee in the seat bag and sprayed perfume to mask the smell.”
Benson shared that the “obviously distressed passengers tried to explain to the flight attendant that the seat and seat belt were wet and that the vomit residue was still visible in their area.”
However, the “very apologetic” flight attendant said nothing could be done to remedy the situation as the flight was full.
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Interior of an Air Canada plane.
Christine Muschi/Bloomberg via Getty
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“The passengers said they can’t be expected to sit in vomit for five hours,” Benson said, adding that they “argued back and forth for several minutes” before the flight attendant sought out her supervisor, who told the three passengers exactly the same thing.
After “reluctantly” receiving blankets, disinfectant wipes and vomit bags to sit on at their request, Benson recalled the pilot walking down the aisle to the compartment, where he “calmly knelt down and told the two ladies they had two choices. ”
“They could have left the plane themselves and organized flights for their own money, or security would have escorted them off the plane and put them on the no-fly list!” Benson said. “When asked why, he said they were rude to the flight attendant. No way! They were upset and firm, but not rude!”
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According to a Facebook post, security escorted the two women off the plane. “For what? Refusing to sit in vomit for five hours!” Benson continued.
“Air Canada literally expects passengers to sit in puke or be escorted off the plane and put on the no-fly list!” the post has been added. “I have no idea if they were actually put on the no-fly list or not. I can’t stop thinking about these two ladies. They didn’t do anything wrong.”
Air Canada told CNN, The Associated Press and The Washington Post in a statement that the airline apologized to passengers “as they clearly did not receive the standard of care they were entitled to”.
“We are reviewing this serious matter internally and have contacted customers directly as our operating procedures were not properly followed in this case,” the statement said, according to the branches. “We remain in contact with them regarding this matter.”
Air Canada did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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